Ben Bradbury has written this week’s blog. Ben works at Glisser, where he is on a mission to rid the world of boring presentations. It is no secret that technology is progressing at a once-unimaginably fast pace. Mobile hardware has gone from stocky, robust bricks to wafer-thin, sleek powerhouses.

And it is not just the devices themselves that have progressed. The software packs a mighty punch too. A quick glance at an app store is enough to confirm that!

The titanic tech of today impacts upon every conceivable professional sector, and the events industry is no exception. Embracing the diverse range of event technology available to event professionals is essential; not only to deliver the highest quality events you can, but to avoid falling behind your competition. I can guarantee that the majority of them will be harnessing the full potential of event tech!

There are a thousand different benefits to utilizing event tech, but I’ve kept it simple, and have identified three key areas where they’ll improve your event experience:

Engaging your audience

Streamlining efficiency

Going green through data capture

With so much great tech at your fingertips, there’s really no reason for you not to get involved. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Audience Engagement

Event tech puts the power back into the audience’s hands. From live presentations to social networking, you can give your attendees the tools to interact directly with your event.

Take Q&A sessions, for example. Gone are the days of passing a microphone around, and large audiences intimidating would-be questioners. Event tech allows questions to be submitted anonymously, removing any fear of the spotlight and, from my experience, results in a group that is far more willing to participate in the discussion.

Audience engagement

Moreover, the instantaneous nature of online interaction lets people build up pictures of other event professionals far quicker than word of mouth. Like Tinder for events, people can speed network, allowing profiles to be quickly shared, and beginning conversations with those around them.

That said, the conversation doesn’t need to finish at the event. Through tools like in-built social sharing, you can provide a platform for delegates to share your content and their experiences, creating a buzz that far outlasts the finite timescale of your event.

Streamlining Efficiency

The time it has taken you to read up to this point isn’t even a fraction of what could be saved on over complicated logistics. They say time is money, and if that’s the case event tech could save you some serious spend.

Event tech gives you the ability to break down your event’s activities into a condensed, easy to process format. Providing your audience with the means to access your content from the ease of their mobile devices removes the need for cumbersome brochures.

And before your events even begin, setting up tech pre-event can help with registrations, ticketing and CRM to name a few.

Not only that, but event tech integrates into logistics of the event themselves, connecting you to recognised suppliers and transporters, improving your efficiency and saving you both time and money.

Don’t be put off by any initial investment needed to setup logistical event tech, the savings you make will be more than worth it.

Data Capture

Last (but certainly not least), is the vast amount of data event tech can capture, and how environmentally friendly it is! To highlight this, I’ll remind you of what feedback event coordinators would typically ask their audience for:

Their personal info

What they liked and disliked

Any questions they might have

Not to mention any content the organisers want shared

It’s no surprise that event organisers expend vast resources gathering feedback, but using finite resources like paper is both expensive and wasteful. Event tech lets you capture all the data you could wish for, without having to touch a tree, or put pen to paper.

Moreover, the data you’ve captured gives you potential to make far smarter business decisions off the back of it. Imagine you’ve got 500 people in a room, all voting in a relevant poll. Suddenly you’ve got an incredibly valuable insight into your audience’s mindset!

Wrapping up

Event tech has gone from being a potential investment for EventProfs to an absolute necessity. The diverse range of tools which let you do everything from engage your audience, to save both time and money in organising logistics and gathering feedback, make for a truly standout combination for any aspiring successful event professional.